The present invention employs a sensor that detects whether its user is bending at the waist beyond a certain set point and warns the user through a vibrating, shocking, or audible alarm. The present invention is attached to the user through a novel cloth belt, narrow strap, plastic holster with a belt clip (like the ones that hold pagers) onto a person's belt, or adhesive patch.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,398,697 is directed to a spinal monitor, which detects movements of the lower back in lifting, bending and twisting through the use of a modified “t”-shaped collimated light beam emitted from a unit worn at the base of the spinal column and detected along the column as long as the spinal motion is within prescribed limits of flexion, extension, and left and right lateral movements—and beyond which an audible signal alert is provided as a warning of unsafe spinal movement.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,474,083 discloses a microprocessor based system utilizing electromyographic sensor to monitor muscle force for lift training and exercise training. In the lift training embodiment the electrodes of the electromyographic sensor are secured to a belt so that they are located adjacent to the lower back of the user when wearing the belt. The lift training embodiment is also provided with a goniometer to measure lifting angle during training, which together with muscle force generated by the lower back is compared in the microprocessor to a programmed lifting parameters and if these parameters are exceeded the user is warned by an audible indicator. The lift trainer embodiment also periodically measures interelectrode impedance to insure actual usage. The exercise training embodiment has a bar graph display displaying muscle intensity and two light emitting diodes alerting a user when to contract or relax a monitored muscle group. The microprocessor is programmed with a exercise routine and alerts a user when the routine is to begin, the duration of muscle contraction and relaxation, and the repetitions required. During exercise the user can monitor muscle intensity from the bar graph display and or auditory feedback element. An alternate lift training systems comprises a belt mounted goniometer which is operatively coupled to a microprocessor having an electronic memory for time logging a lifting session. To insure actual usage the belt is also provided with temperature and/or motion sensors.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,749,838 discloses a posture training device, which includes a frame and a module floatingly engaged with the frame. The device can be held snugly against the backbone of a person by a belt or garment, such that an increase in curvature of the backbone in either the midsagittal plane or a transverse plane moves the module relative to the frame. When the module has been moved sufficiently to indicate a poor posture position, a tactile signal generator within the module is activated to vibrate, thereby alerting the person that he or she has assumed a poor posture.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,059,576 discloses an electronic device, system, and method to monitor and train an individual on proper motion during physical movement. The system employs an electronic device which tracks and monitors an individual's motion through the use of an accelerometer capable of measuring parameters associated with the individual's movement. The device also employs a user-programmable microprocessor which receives, interprets, stores and responds to data relating to the movement parameters based on customizable operation parameters, a real-time clock connected to the microprocessor, memory for storing the movement data, a power source, a port for downloading the data from the device to other computation or storage devices contained within the system, and various input and output components. The downloadable, self-contained device can be worn at various positions along the torso or appendages being monitored depending on the specific physical task being performed. The device also detects the speed of movements made while the device is being worn. When a pre-programmed recordable event is recognized, the device records the time and date of the occurrence while providing feedback to the wearer via visual, audible and/or tactile warnings.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,665,928 discloses a range of motion measuring and displaying device, which includes a modular housing containing a micro-computer and associated circuitry as well as input controls, display and printout facilities, input and output cord connections and a software receiving area which is provided so as to detachably connect to the modular housing diverse programs enabling diverse modes of operation of the invention. One of the cord connections is provided for attachment thereto of the cord of an electronic goniometer which has been designed specifically to interface with the modular housing. The electronic goniometer is of the variable resistance type and outputs voltages interpretable by the micro-computer which voltages are indicative of a rotation of the electronic goniometer with respect to an original vertical position. In one embodiment of the present invention, the modular housing has cord connections for a plurality of such electronic goniometers which may be used simultaneously in the operation of the present invention so as to determine the range of motion of a plurality of joints with respect to one another, such as separate vertabral joints of the spinal column. The present invention is usable to measure the range of motion of the various joints of the human body in any desired sequence and includes a separate mode enabling the performance of sets and repetitions of various exercises with the various body joints with the micro-computer monitoring such exercises.
U.S. Patent Application No. 20020170193 discloses a sensing device, which is attached to a living subject that includes sensors for distinguishing lying, sitting, and standing positions. In another embodiment, sensor data is stored in a storage device as a function of time. Multiple points or multiple intervals of the time dependent data are used to direct a feedback mechanism to provide information or instruction in response to the time dependent output indicating too little activity, too much time with a joint not being moved beyond a specified range of motion, too many motions beyond a specified range of motion, or repetitive activity that can cause repetitive stress injury.
There is a need, however, for a device that can be attached to a person to retrain his bending habits by consistently alerting him when he is jeopardizing his lower back by bending over too much at the waist and to record how many times in a given period the person has bent over too far at the waist. The previously cited art fails to provide a device that not only alerts a patient when he has bent at the waist past a set point which he sets to indicate the maximum amount that he is supposed to bend, but also tracks the number of times over a given period that the person has been alerted. It also displays the amount in degrees that a person is bending at any particular time. The set point can be set based on a certain body position, or a certain numeric degree of bend as indicated by the LCD readout. It would therefore be beneficial if a device existed, as a retraining aid, which detected when a person bent past a certain set point beyond which he is not supposed to bend, and recorded the number of times the person has thus triggered the set point alarm.